Well, there's no point learning a system if you don't have anyone to help you test it- so the first thing that needs to be done (once you've started to understand what the hell he's going on about) is to explain it to someone else, in clear and straight forward terms. Preferably in some kind of sensible order.
Flicking through the notes I've been taking while trying to understand Swetnam, has made me aware that they are pretty useless for teaching. Not only that, they're not very useful on the field- even in a natty little A5 ring binder that fits in the front pocket of my sword bag. How have I overcome this?
Index cards.
Not only that, they're typed, mainly because my handwriting is blasted shoddy. I am contemplating sharing them here, once they're done. Maybe in several stages, so you can follow the path of understanding that I am travelling. Maybe they'll help you, dear reader, maybe they'll just end up with you being confused.
It's quite likely that you'll end up being confused because I'm not one for 'correct' terminology. I have a hotchpotch education within HEMA and I pick up anything that looks interesting, learn some of those principles and move on. I think I'm more of a fighter than an artist- I don't care if it looks a bit sloppy providing I hit them without being hit myself. I also seem to have developed the English habit of throwing in occasional Italian terms where I'm only vaguely aware of what they actually mean. It's perfectly acceptable, on a historic level, but it's not helpful if you're writing for someone else.
I've also done this with Capoferro's plays- mainly trying to remove the excessive wordiness and translate it to movement rather than explanation, but I'm not sure how accurate they are since I've not had time to run through them or any form of double checking.
Thursday, 17 June 2010
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Mystery Science Theater 3000
You can be serious about something without taking it seriously. I don't have the linguistic knowledge to translate something from medieval/renaissance Italian to proper English- the kind anyone with half a brain can understand. My understanding goes back 400 years or so and no further than the M25.
How about this for a newsflash: HemaGoth wants to be paid wear leather trousers, sit in a puddle of alleged real beer. and proclaim that in the name of the Queen that this beer is good. My casual wear has meant that I've had to take Americans to one side and explain that I'm not an exhibit and, yes, this is me. (by the way, I believe a co-owner of the Rake in Southwark is one of us. The beer is worth every penny and it is not cheap). Part of this blog was intended to take the piss out of a hobby I love.
Anyway, I digress... Swetnam is an intriguing source of frustration to me. My sloppy notes combine Fiore, Silver and CapoFerro. Due to my sinestre nature, I can't see things in terms of left and right- it's sword and not sword- despite the fact that I tend to fight right handed.
Anyone who has tried to understand an original text has wanted sneak into a bedroom and press a pillow to the author's face. These things aren't easy to understand, you've got to translate them, dictionaries weren't invented and they're not really a "teach yourself" book.
I'd love to see some sarky interpretations/annotations appear online-I've got quite a few things to say about Swetnam and Silver. Some of Silver's bits read like an awful action/horror movie that should be panned for constant xenophobia. Swetnam... Well, there's a reason I'm confident in saying that I'm in the top 10 practitioners in the country (There's about 5 of us... if that)- He's in desperate need of a good editor.
How about this for a newsflash: HemaGoth wants to be paid wear leather trousers, sit in a puddle of alleged real beer. and proclaim that in the name of the Queen that this beer is good. My casual wear has meant that I've had to take Americans to one side and explain that I'm not an exhibit and, yes, this is me. (by the way, I believe a co-owner of the Rake in Southwark is one of us. The beer is worth every penny and it is not cheap). Part of this blog was intended to take the piss out of a hobby I love.
Anyway, I digress... Swetnam is an intriguing source of frustration to me. My sloppy notes combine Fiore, Silver and CapoFerro. Due to my sinestre nature, I can't see things in terms of left and right- it's sword and not sword- despite the fact that I tend to fight right handed.
Anyone who has tried to understand an original text has wanted sneak into a bedroom and press a pillow to the author's face. These things aren't easy to understand, you've got to translate them, dictionaries weren't invented and they're not really a "teach yourself" book.
I'd love to see some sarky interpretations/annotations appear online-I've got quite a few things to say about Swetnam and Silver. Some of Silver's bits read like an awful action/horror movie that should be panned for constant xenophobia. Swetnam... Well, there's a reason I'm confident in saying that I'm in the top 10 practitioners in the country (There's about 5 of us... if that)- He's in desperate need of a good editor.
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
Rapier and Dagger, The English Way.
In keeping with our English focus- my esteemed and honourable Maestro and myself have been looking at Swetnam's rapier and dagger. Swetnam is quite a character, he has more hits in Google for his misogynist ranting than he has for his book on stabbing people. This book follows in what appears to be a tradition in English fighting manuals for waffling on somewhat (I've only looked at two, but it's a 100% hit rate so far... Silver pretty much forgot that he was writing a book about fighting. )
Swetnam is also a blasted idiot. Or innumerate. Or using a different method of measure than normal human beings. Or a blasted idiot.
Anyway, I digress: I'll come to that again, later, once I've finished reading his book.
This one is more difficult for me to read, mostly because I don't have a physical copy and I'm working from a PDF, partially because the scan is less than perfect, and partially because I have to keep changing from thinking in diuerse ways like thif to modern typography. Something I find easy when making notes by hand.
I like books and in a perfect world, I'd read this over a few pints then come back and make notes from the important parts.
Anyway- It can get confusing, let's take this:
When thou dost practise with thy friend or companion; at the first get thy backe to the wall, and let him that playeth with thee stand about twelve foote distance , and set thy left heel close to the wall , and thy right foot heele to the great joynte of the left foote great toe.....
He goes on a bit but doesn't really say what the purpose of this is or what to do after that, except to get proper technique for the lunge. Your sword is about 3 and a half feet long, your pace is about the same. You might make 9 feet if you start with your arm in a half-reasonable guard.
I'm just starting my third year of this stuff and I've been bouncing about, watching some people, joining in other lessons and this sounds roughly like Dave Rawling's introduction to time and distance (or whatever he calls it). Your partner stands well out of distance and walks towards you. You strike when he's in range.
This is a far more sensible way to interpret this than a 12 foot lunge (the length of a snooker table). However, this is merely an educated guess that sounds more likely than an extra 3 feet of stabbyness appearing from thin air. Swetnam does not give you the information needed to make that interpretation.
I'm glad I'm not one of the poor sods translating things from medieval Italian.
Swetnam is also a blasted idiot. Or innumerate. Or using a different method of measure than normal human beings. Or a blasted idiot.
Anyway, I digress: I'll come to that again, later, once I've finished reading his book.
This one is more difficult for me to read, mostly because I don't have a physical copy and I'm working from a PDF, partially because the scan is less than perfect, and partially because I have to keep changing from thinking in diuerse ways like thif to modern typography. Something I find easy when making notes by hand.
I like books and in a perfect world, I'd read this over a few pints then come back and make notes from the important parts.
Anyway- It can get confusing, let's take this:
When thou dost practise with thy friend or companion; at the first get thy backe to the wall, and let him that playeth with thee stand about twelve foote distance , and set thy left heel close to the wall , and thy right foot heele to the great joynte of the left foote great toe.....
He goes on a bit but doesn't really say what the purpose of this is or what to do after that, except to get proper technique for the lunge. Your sword is about 3 and a half feet long, your pace is about the same. You might make 9 feet if you start with your arm in a half-reasonable guard.
I'm just starting my third year of this stuff and I've been bouncing about, watching some people, joining in other lessons and this sounds roughly like Dave Rawling's introduction to time and distance (or whatever he calls it). Your partner stands well out of distance and walks towards you. You strike when he's in range.
This is a far more sensible way to interpret this than a 12 foot lunge (the length of a snooker table). However, this is merely an educated guess that sounds more likely than an extra 3 feet of stabbyness appearing from thin air. Swetnam does not give you the information needed to make that interpretation.
I'm glad I'm not one of the poor sods translating things from medieval Italian.
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Here comes the sun.
Holy shit it feels good to be back.
Unfortunately a combination of Real Life and the winter has kept me away from the blades for far too long. The evenings are getting longer and staying dry so now our informal sessions are starting up again. As I've mentioned, this is a scattered interest. Popular worldwide but it's a bugger finding a local group. Running a formal group means you have to hire a hall and make sure you've got the insurance and all of that. Not that much of a problem if you have enough people to cover the costs of the hall and storage (trust me, carrying 2 sets of swords is enough without the masks and padding). I live in a city, having a place with a garden big enough to hold a lesson is a minor miracle, indoors? out of the question.
If I wanted to spend £40 a week on a hobby that leaves me breathless and feeling a bit sick, I'd smoke cloves. So, until my lottery winnings come in, we're reliant on weather.
This break has lead me to ask one question. King's Cross is now a fully functioning international train station- How can one tourist with a pull suitcase the size of my book pocket take up more space than me with a sodding huge bag of swords? OK two... why can't I stab them?
Unfortunately a combination of Real Life and the winter has kept me away from the blades for far too long. The evenings are getting longer and staying dry so now our informal sessions are starting up again. As I've mentioned, this is a scattered interest. Popular worldwide but it's a bugger finding a local group. Running a formal group means you have to hire a hall and make sure you've got the insurance and all of that. Not that much of a problem if you have enough people to cover the costs of the hall and storage (trust me, carrying 2 sets of swords is enough without the masks and padding). I live in a city, having a place with a garden big enough to hold a lesson is a minor miracle, indoors? out of the question.
If I wanted to spend £40 a week on a hobby that leaves me breathless and feeling a bit sick, I'd smoke cloves. So, until my lottery winnings come in, we're reliant on weather.
This break has lead me to ask one question. King's Cross is now a fully functioning international train station- How can one tourist with a pull suitcase the size of my book pocket take up more space than me with a sodding huge bag of swords? OK two... why can't I stab them?
Thursday, 26 November 2009
Breaking silence
Unfortunately I have had some real world issues that have prevented me from enjoying HEMA. The worst has passed but I will be erratic until I have finished making adjustments to my new lifestyle. Or maybe spring, when outdoor training is more pleasant and practical.
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Mr Charles Stross, would you care to step forward?
I picked up Halting State today, it's a book set in a world where Augmented and Virtual Realities are commonplace and Real World people have been called in to investigate an MMORPG bankjob. It's first film matrixy but English and real. Anyway, I've not brought this up as a book review.
What grabbed my attention was a fight scene with Augmented Reality (for those not in the know, the software is just coming into mainstream mainly through the iPhone- the GPS and inbuilt video camera work to create an overlay to your reality.) In this case AR was used to increase the realism of a swordfight. Below is an extract:
Later, the AR works to show the efficiency of a hit and projects blood all over the place. The tech to build that into fencing masks is quite some time away, but it's a fantastic idea.
However, a few things struck me:
"Thirty seconds of combat feels like thirty minutes at the gym or three hours slaving over a hot spreadsheet"
"... when you either did dress-up re-enactment or actual martial arts (and never the twain shall meet)"
"... and stuff it in your briefcase with the usual: pen, iPod, your father's antique pocket calculator, and a dog-eared copy of Tobler's manual of sword fighting that you borrowed from Matthew"
Mr Stross also technobabbles D20 gaming, LARP, Renactment, the embarrassment for all of this. He hits the nail on the head too often- I suspect he is One Of Us.
In which case, I must say: Hey lazerlips, your momma was a snowblower.
What grabbed my attention was a fight scene with Augmented Reality (for those not in the know, the software is just coming into mainstream mainly through the iPhone- the GPS and inbuilt video camera work to create an overlay to your reality.) In this case AR was used to increase the realism of a swordfight. Below is an extract:
"'Your mother wears army boots!'
You're not sure that's the right thing to say to a late fifteenth-century main battle tank, but he takes it in the spirit you intended- and more importantly he spots you changing guard, lowering the point of your sword. And he goes for you immediately, nothing subtle about it, just a diagonal swing, pivoting forward so he can slice a steak off you.
Of course, this is what you expected when you twisted your wrist....... You dip your pont and grab your blade with your left hand, blocking him with a clang...... You're using sword like a short stabbing spear now- and hook the tip into his armpit like a one-and-a-half-kilo can-opener while hooking his knee with your left foot.
Unlike a modern main battle tank, the old fashioned version can fall on its arse".
You're not sure that's the right thing to say to a late fifteenth-century main battle tank, but he takes it in the spirit you intended- and more importantly he spots you changing guard, lowering the point of your sword. And he goes for you immediately, nothing subtle about it, just a diagonal swing, pivoting forward so he can slice a steak off you.
Of course, this is what you expected when you twisted your wrist....... You dip your pont and grab your blade with your left hand, blocking him with a clang...... You're using sword like a short stabbing spear now- and hook the tip into his armpit like a one-and-a-half-kilo can-opener while hooking his knee with your left foot.
Unlike a modern main battle tank, the old fashioned version can fall on its arse".
Later, the AR works to show the efficiency of a hit and projects blood all over the place. The tech to build that into fencing masks is quite some time away, but it's a fantastic idea.
However, a few things struck me:
"Thirty seconds of combat feels like thirty minutes at the gym or three hours slaving over a hot spreadsheet"
"... when you either did dress-up re-enactment or actual martial arts (and never the twain shall meet)"
"... and stuff it in your briefcase with the usual: pen, iPod, your father's antique pocket calculator, and a dog-eared copy of Tobler's manual of sword fighting that you borrowed from Matthew"
Mr Stross also technobabbles D20 gaming, LARP, Renactment, the embarrassment for all of this. He hits the nail on the head too often- I suspect he is One Of Us.
In which case, I must say: Hey lazerlips, your momma was a snowblower.
Saturday, 29 August 2009
Fehlungs, nothing more than Fehlungs.
Now this is interesting... Well, to me at least.
The Great Triangulation is getting a new and interesting tool. I am not a fan of steel longsword sparring. The more I look at my own motives, it's probably because the affordable options are really tools for drilling rather than fighting. They look great, but being the frilly shirted rapier monkey I am, the low-end steel longswords don't have enough flex in the thrust for me to be happy about using them. This is a problem they share with the other aspects of the Triangulation. I don't think I'll be as interested in longsword as I am in rapier, but that may change if the introductory tools are good enough.
The thing is, I've been privvy to some development. I've not said anything because my opinion on what makes a good longsword simulator is worthless. I don't know if it feels right on the swing. I can't tell you if the way it binds is correct. All I can say is if I like it or not.
The Saturday Scrappers have been trying to fill in some gaps. Our experiences at FightCamp have shown us where we can get better and we've been examining that for the past month. The general consensus (aided by objective comparisons using the rapier) is that we need a different viewpoint. I've mentioned "the bind" in previous entries, this experience is not important once you understand it and have internalised it. However, you need to know how these things would happen.
Our current simulators are bouncy- the reason for that is because they harm less. Unfortunately it makes it difficult to pin your opponent's sword- a good parry will aid your opponent, he will know that any defence will be strong and the good response will be a weak one. (or whatever the Italian version is)
As ever, and as it should be, the thing you are actually holding in your hand is what dictates your actions. The Knight Shop has been working with a Mr Dave Rawlings (you may have seen him on TV recently, beating the crap out of a green beret) to produce a median tool.
I managed to play with these briefly last month, I had no opinion because I did not know what a bad version of these plastic wasters felt like. The Saturday Scrappers have bad versions, they bind well, but everything else is wrong. A good block should not reverberate through your shoulderblades, but the binding acted nicely- to the point where I would "lose" a parry and "win" a cross. The problem with the early generations of plastic wasters is that they are early generations. We're bug fixing, if you like- in fact, that is where my involvement came in. Mr Rawlings and the Knight Shop have asked for a wide sample of people to beta test the new hardware. The first round of testing happened at FightCamp and there was a second round a few weeks ago for people who really knew what they were doing.
The Knight Shop has been working with the community (sometimes asking very old questions) and trying to figure out where the gaps in the weapons are. Mr Rawlings is a perfectionist when it comes to the art, remarkably focused, and Knows His Stuff.
Everything I've experienced so far, the earlier nylon swords, my use, the conversations with the Scrappers, Mr Rawling's attitude, the people involved with the second round of testing and the proposed price. All of that suggests it will be the median tool.
The Great Triangulation is getting a new and interesting tool. I am not a fan of steel longsword sparring. The more I look at my own motives, it's probably because the affordable options are really tools for drilling rather than fighting. They look great, but being the frilly shirted rapier monkey I am, the low-end steel longswords don't have enough flex in the thrust for me to be happy about using them. This is a problem they share with the other aspects of the Triangulation. I don't think I'll be as interested in longsword as I am in rapier, but that may change if the introductory tools are good enough.
The thing is, I've been privvy to some development. I've not said anything because my opinion on what makes a good longsword simulator is worthless. I don't know if it feels right on the swing. I can't tell you if the way it binds is correct. All I can say is if I like it or not.
The Saturday Scrappers have been trying to fill in some gaps. Our experiences at FightCamp have shown us where we can get better and we've been examining that for the past month. The general consensus (aided by objective comparisons using the rapier) is that we need a different viewpoint. I've mentioned "the bind" in previous entries, this experience is not important once you understand it and have internalised it. However, you need to know how these things would happen.
Our current simulators are bouncy- the reason for that is because they harm less. Unfortunately it makes it difficult to pin your opponent's sword- a good parry will aid your opponent, he will know that any defence will be strong and the good response will be a weak one. (or whatever the Italian version is)
As ever, and as it should be, the thing you are actually holding in your hand is what dictates your actions. The Knight Shop has been working with a Mr Dave Rawlings (you may have seen him on TV recently, beating the crap out of a green beret) to produce a median tool.
I managed to play with these briefly last month, I had no opinion because I did not know what a bad version of these plastic wasters felt like. The Saturday Scrappers have bad versions, they bind well, but everything else is wrong. A good block should not reverberate through your shoulderblades, but the binding acted nicely- to the point where I would "lose" a parry and "win" a cross. The problem with the early generations of plastic wasters is that they are early generations. We're bug fixing, if you like- in fact, that is where my involvement came in. Mr Rawlings and the Knight Shop have asked for a wide sample of people to beta test the new hardware. The first round of testing happened at FightCamp and there was a second round a few weeks ago for people who really knew what they were doing.
The Knight Shop has been working with the community (sometimes asking very old questions) and trying to figure out where the gaps in the weapons are. Mr Rawlings is a perfectionist when it comes to the art, remarkably focused, and Knows His Stuff.
Everything I've experienced so far, the earlier nylon swords, my use, the conversations with the Scrappers, Mr Rawling's attitude, the people involved with the second round of testing and the proposed price. All of that suggests it will be the median tool.
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